... my girls went running off happily chasing squirrels as usual - except after approx. 10 seconds out of sight, Daisy came back bright red having split her ear straight down the middle. Nice clean cut, will be shaved, stitched and she will look extremely silly, but in the grand scheme of things not a huge crisis.

Two thoughts come from this - one, the importance of health testing. Not relevant to my breed, but thinking what a nightmare to be a pet owner with a breed prone to haemophilia and have that happen in the middle of the woods. OK for me, I put her on a lead and took a steady walk back to the car, and all was well, but what a crisis it could be in those circumstances.

Secondly, I'm insured so have no personal concerns about the bill, but I do have queries around the cost to the insurance company. Sunday callout charge is £75, that's life and have no issue with that. However, for a 22kg dog, I have been quoted £575 to give her a GA and stitch the ear, plus antibiotics and follow-up. This sounds outrageous to me. Does anyone have any thoughts on that? Should I raise a concern on this to Direct Line and let them deal with it, or what else should I do.

M.

That sounds like a LOT of money to me! Considering the spay was only £200 for my Great Dane....

That sounds far too much to me. The callout charge is fair, but not a sum like that for what's basically a very simple job. I recently paid £45 to get Harry's cut stapled - and that included ABs and follow-up appointment to have them removed. Okay, so he didn't have a GA which would have put the cost up, but even so ....

Any clues on whether I raise it with the vet or with the insurance company? I would assume that as the £75 call out charge covers the Sunday service (and as I say, I agree that's not an issue), then surely everything else should be normally priced?

Think I'll have a chat when I collect her.

M.

On way back from hols yesterday and daughter phoned to ask what to do about our dog who had a nasty looking cut to her foot.  I said just take her to the vets and let them decide as sounds like might need stitches.  They took her to vets who said that the cut did need stitches so like your dog she needed GA, antibiotics, have pain killers and a follow up in appnt to change dressing and check all is ok.  On top of this she had to stay the night as the vet thought she was too sleepy to let her go.  All this came to £231 so I guess you are being charged quite a bit over the top

wow that is a lot of money when tyko had her last litter ( mini dachsie 5kg ) i called the vet at 1am sunday morning , met vet at surgery where she spent 25 mins pulling out a puppy that was stuck ( leg was at side of head ) vet did an ex-ray 2 shots of oxytocin . we had to go back at 6am for another shot of oxytocin and the bill was £123.00 including vat !!! also tyko was speyed last week , had anal glands emptied & nails cut , 2 overnight stays at surgery , cost £ 93.00 . i certainly wont moan about cost again !!

Yep, everyone agreeing with my thoughts then. OK, I'm in Berkshire which is one of the most expensive, but still seems totally OTT.

Will pay the bill when I collect her, point out politely that I think it's excessive although have no issue with the service, and then ask Direct Line for their views when I phone tomorrow for a claim form.

M.

Wow way too much IMHO My puppy had both his rear dew claws off for £110 including GA etc & after check up. I don't have a problem with the call out charge although when I had to have my Brett PTS out of hours I was only charged the normal fee with no call out

However as they have found in the States if you have the Insurance the prices rise putting treatment for those that don't digging deep. I suppose the insurance compnaies have ways of recouping the money. I've only had one dog insured & he had a minor op that cost the insurance company £2.50 The next year the dogs premium rocketted by 300% from £50 to £150 & they removed cover for the same op again(removal of a cyst)when I advised them of his hip score(4:20=24)they removed any hip related treatment as well & put up the premium to £190 ! & we are talking about the mid 1980's ! I didn't renew & put the same amount as the premiums into a bank account like I did for all the other dogs. He never cost me another penny  & died in his sleep aged 16 !

Anton had to have his leg stitched last week under sedation, I was charged £105 and I thought that was a lot.  Took him at 12.00 pm had him back home at 12.40!!  This was on a Saturday, although I did manage to get him to be seen in surgery hours fortunately.  I don't have mine insured and there's no way that I could have afforded £500!!!  Although I do have helpful parents :d

Ask for a breadown of the bill.  When my daughter was at school and used to help out in the vets, they were always making up bills and the cost of drugs too.  Needless to say, we go to a different vet whose fees are very reasonable.

Apparently price is up over £600 as it took longer than expected.:rolleyes: Have stated that I will be paying it, but will be querying it. I will be asking for a breakdown, and will post it here after I pick her up, see if anyone has any views.

M.

I've done that in the past with older dogs MM, but although these two are healthy, my are they accident prone!

Have to say, around here, I really couldn't afford not to insure them. If I'd got this morning's bill for a simple ear split, I'd have been panic-stricken, and we're comfortably off. Between a foot laceration and a stick down her throat:rolleyes:, Daisy's mum has probably reclaimed her lifetime's insurance premiums, plus Daisy's and some!!

Also, I am happy with the vets there and the service - I currently travel there as I'm happy with them, although will actually be moving house to within 10 minutes of them in the next couple of months. I'm not convinced it would be any cheaper anywhere else around here, so if they're insured and most bills are covered, is there any point in changing vet?

However, it does concern me that it's a vicious circle - IF(!) vets are increasing their costs for insured clients, insurance premiums will rise etc.

Watch this space for breakdown of vet's bill and invitation to comment.

M.

Wow, Over £600?? About time I retrained as a vet and set up practice in Berkshire :D

Shay had to have his leg stitched under sedation. The cut wasn't particularly serious but wouldn't close because it was right on the joint. It was only a couple of stitches but he had to stay in the vets most of the day because of the sedative. We paid £20.

I have been quoted £100 by same vet to spay my Newfie :)

So £600 does seem like an awful lot, even with the GA

My Ridgeback tore her ear and needed stitches.  While under the GA I asked the vet to spay her and the total bill came to £275 including VAT and antibiotics.

Marina,
Sounds about it for Berks/Oxon...........
I always get asked are they insured when I take my hooligans to the vets.
I'm sure that's why premiums are creeping up...but vet's bills haven't increased
by the percentage that the pet insurance companies are putting prices up.
Thank heavens!! Gawd my purse couldn't cope with that too.

A friend co owned a bitch who was ceasared and that was in Berks the op cost £1500!!
The friend who co-owned the bitch wanted a complete breakdown they also wanted to
know was the vet operating with GOLD instruments!!

Some vets do seem to charge a heck of alot in our area.

£1500!! An emergency CS last yeat cost me less than £400! Thank goodness I don't live in Berkshire.

completely outrageous price. Good god, we do our own ears with a stapler (veterinary skin stapler not the office variety!) but even my vet would only charge about £25 to staple it up.

Final total £615.44 made up of:

Out of hours   £178.37
GA   £105.00
GA Units   £25.50
Sedation Routine & further GA   £30.00
Hospitalisation   £28.50
Surgery Soft Tissue   £186.50
Ceporex Inj   £9.72
Rilexine (anti-bs)   £9.08
Bandages   £4.77
Vet's time to dress   £38.00

OUCH.....
£160.50 seems excessive for GA purposes!
and having to pay for the vets time to do the dressing

OUCH OUCH OUCH OUCH
Thank heavens they are insured!!

Ridiculous, isn't it.

Were you at Stafford yesterday, Kirstine?

M.

Supposed to have been - sadly had this awful virus bug heavy cold/cough/bad chest
and didn't feel well enough to go.
Me missing a dog show must have been poorly!! The first dog show I've missed
in I don't know how many years....last one was down to extreme bad weather!
I couldn't gait the girls so saw no point in dragging myself 2 1/2 hours each way
in the car on my own and coughing myself horse whilst trying to run the girls..gutted though
as Abby stood a fair chance yesterday :(
On the upside Sophie's half sister and Abby's neice got BPIS at the show yesterday :)
Just annoyed I didn't get to see it.

K

Ridiculous by Scottish standards. I've not needed a GA recently but the last time was £47 total for a giant breed. My vets wouldn't charge anything for 'hospitalisation', nor would they charge for time taken to do a dressing.

that sounds very OTT to me. My youngest had to go in the vets a few weeks ago-no appt, just had to fit myself in (think he had something caught in his throat). I took two vets to look at him, both finding nothing, he was in for an hour being checked, which included being sedated, and having an endoscope down him, plus antibiotics, and that was £45. Had him castrated on friday for £75.

That is extortionate!

Not sure what else to say or suggest, but that sounds horrendous and completely OTT.

In regards to the insurance,do you have to pay the vet and then the insurance reimburses you? Honestly,if i had 600 odd quid lying around, i wouldnt need insurance. Doesnt insurance come in handy for the folks who cant afford huge vet bills such as this one

If my dog had to have massive surgery tomorrow,i couldnt afford to pay the vet thousands of pounds right there and then whether i had insurance or not :(

In regards to the insurance,do you have to pay the vet and then the insurance reimburses you? Honestly,if i had 600 odd quid lying around, i wouldnt need insurance. Doesnt insurance come in handy for the folks who cant afford huge vet bills such as this one 
If my dog had to have massive surgery tomorrow,i couldnt afford to pay the vet thousands of pounds right there and then whether i had insurance or not 

Are you saying that if we can afford to pay for the vet bills, then we shouldn't have to have our pets insured? I've had to beg/borrow large amounts and whilst on holiday had to use my savings for emergency treatment. Are you saying that because I could pay it that I shouldn't have been able to be reimbursed? Most sensible people will have money put by for treatment, some vets do not do direct claims with some insurance companies so therefore you do have to pay up front. In out of hours emergency, vets would not allow you to take your animal home unless the bill is settled, in fact the holiday vet insisted I paid a deposit up front before they would operate on my girl. Most puppies are insured before they leave their breeder and that is just being responsible. Insurance isn't just for poor people. Its there for responsible people who want to make sure that the best is available for their beloved pets.

I'm sure that I've read in the literature regarding veterinary insurance that you aren't supposed to disclose the fact that you are insured can't remember which company tho.

I don't insure (have a savings account ;) ) but have been asked by vets if we are insured when something needed doing.  I couldn't help thinking that the question was irrelevant really, as when I stated no insurance they didn't ask if I could afford to pay before the animal was treated ;)  So why on earth would they need to know?

Surely the cost of the surgery should include bandaging afterwards?  after all when doing a job you're not finished until you're finished ;)

It does seem like extortion to me, having had an animal to the vet during a bank holiday I paid the 'call out' charge but the treatment cost the same then as any normal working day.

Seems very expensive, our Goldie was hit by a car 4 months ago had a broken pelvis and her face and nose were so badly cut that she nearly bled to death.  The accident happend on a Sunday so included out of hours stuff.  The op to stitch her up took 3 hours, she was in the vets for 2 days and on antibiotics for a month and pain killers for a week.  We then had weekly visits to the vets for a month, the total bill for all this came to about £800.  We live in South London so it's not the cheapest area in the country.

Steve

sounds over the top, Rott was poorly on a Sunday evening so sunday call out and 3 different injections, visit to surgery on Monday morning, blood tests, op for removal of spleen and tumour, 1 nights bed and breakfast etc check at 3 days post op and at 10 days. total bill was about £580, this was in Nov so current prices.
Chris 

On the subject of vets fees.......I took a cat in from a rescue centre recently, he was supposed to be an 18month old un-neutured tom-cat. As he was very frightened I didn't check his sex until I had had him for a few days. He turned out to be an old she-cat. Went to the vets called Jasper & came out called Cilla!!The rescue centre must have seen me coming!! £100 at the vets for check up (she had terrible gum disease & rotten teeth), antibiotics, blood tests to see if she could withstand a GA. After a lot of hassle with the rescue centre they went halves with the vets bill for the teeth removal (she did come with 6 weeks free insurance, but guess what - dental work isn't covered!). Anyway, another £150.00 for the dental, unfortunately after all that I had to take her back to the rescue centre. The more confident she became in our house, she was peeing & spraying everywhere. I tried everything to encourage her to stop, all to no avail, I had to return her, the rescue centre wanted to charge me for taking her back!!  I refused to give them anything, as this cat should not have been rehomed in the terrible state, anyway. Another gripe regarding vets fees is 'why can't vaccinations last longer than 1 year'? We have just had jabs for various diseases for our hols & thay last 10 years. Does anyone else have any views on this?

It depends on the vaccination. Some are reputed nowadays to last 3 years, but the leptospirosis one only gives immunity for one year maximum. Other than that, if you do a Search for 'vaccination' you'll find very many threads where the topic's been discussed till the cows have not only come home but also gone out again in the morning! ;) :D

As JG says, some vaccinations DO last longer than a year.

There is no requirement in the UK to have any dog blood tested post vaccination to see if it has "taken" apart from the rabies vaccine if you want to travel abroad, so there is only an assumption that your dog is adequately covered, not proof.

Because I do not wish to unecessarily vaccinate my dog I had her titre tested this year and all her levels are way above the minimum required, therefore I am not vaccinating against anything apart from two types of lepto. 

After 12 months I will repeat the test, and vaccinate or not accordingly.

I have in my possession a letter from my vets that states the titre levels for kennels etc.

that sounds as though the vet knows its insured and is milking it for all its worth!
GA is stupid- all those separate charges- made up, and out of hours is a farce- bet they charged for a nurse to come out- even though the nurse gets none of it!
ie- we charge a maximum £47 for the largest dogs to be anaesthetised, and have a £65 call out fee, with maybe an extra £30 if after 10pm!

the meds and bandaging sounds ok- it shouldnt cost £38 or so for the vet to bandage!!!!

theyre milking this for all its worth- sadly cutting down your claim limit unnecessarily.